People's Liberation Army (PLA) Visa Security Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1451 To prohibit the issuance of F or J visas to researchers affiliated with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2019 Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit the issuance of F or J visas to researchers affiliated with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘People’s Liberation 4 Army (PLA) Visa Security Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 (1) the Secretary of State should revoke the ex- 8 isting F or J visas of any individuals who are em- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1451.IS S1451 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1451 IS ployed, funded, or otherwise sponsored by the Chi- 1 nese People’s Liberation Army; and 2 (2) Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the 3 United Kingdom should take measures similar to the 4 measures outlined in section 3 to address security 5 concerns posed by researchers and scientists affili- 6 ated with, or funded by, the Chinese People’s Lib- 7 eration Army. 8 SEC. 3. VISA BAN ON RESEARCHERS AFFILIATED WITH THE 9 PLA. 10 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF PLA-SUPPORTED INSTITU- 11 TIONS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an- 14 nually thereafter, the President shall publish a list 15 identifying the research, engineering, and scientific 16 institutions that the President determines are affili- 17 ated with, or funded by, the Chinese People’s Lib- 18 eration Army. 19 (2) FORM.—The list published under paragraph 20 (1) shall be unclassified and publicly accessible, but 21 may include a classified annex. 22 (b) EXCLUSION FROM UNITED STATES.—Except as 23 provided in subsections (d) and (e), the Secretary of State 24 may not issue a visa under subparagraph (F) or (J) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1451.IS S1451 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1451 IS section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 1 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)), and the Secretary of Homeland 2 Security may not admit, parole into the United States, 3 or otherwise provide nonimmigrant status under such sub- 4 paragraphs, to any alien who is, or has previously been, 5 employed, sponsored, or funded by any entity identified 6 on the most recently published list under subsection (a). 7 (c) INQUIRY.—Before issuing a visa referred to in 8 subsection (b) to a national of the People’s Republic of 9 China, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland 10 Security, a consular officer, or a U.S. Customs and Border 11 Protection officer shall ask the alien seeking such visa if 12 the alien is, or has previously been, employed, funded, or 13 otherwise sponsored by the Chinese People’s Liberation 14 Army or any of the affiliated institutions identified on the 15 most recently published list under subsection (a). 16 (d) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NATIONS 17 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Subsection (b) shall not 18 apply to an individual if admitting the individual to the 19 United States is necessary to permit the United States 20 to comply with the Agreement between the United Nations 21 and the United States of America regarding the Head- 22 quarters of the United Nations, signed June 26, 1947, 23 and entered into force November 21, 1947, and other ap- 24 plicable international obligations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1451.IS S1451 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1451 IS (e) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The President, 1 or a designee of the President, may waive the application 2 of subsection (b) if the President or such designee certifies 3 in writing to the appropriate congressional committees 4 that such waiver is in the national security interest of the 5 United States. 6 SEC. 4. SECURITY ADVISORY OPINION REQUIREMENT. 7 A consular officer shall request a Security Advisory 8 Opinion (commonly known as a ‘‘Visa Mantis’’) with re- 9 spect to any national of the People’s Republic of China 10 who applies for a nonimmigrant visa— 11 (1) under section 101(a)(15)(F) of the Immi- 12 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 13 1101(a)(15)(F)) for graduate study in a field related 14 to an item on the Commerce Control List (main- 15 tained pursuant to part 744 of the Export Adminis- 16 tration Regulations); or 17 (2) under section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immi- 18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 19 1101(a)(15)(J)) to conduct research on, or to par- 20 ticipate in a program in a field related to, an item 21 on the list referred to in paragraph (1). 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1451.IS S1451 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS